The 9K34 Strela-3 (Russian: 9К34 «Стрела-3», 'arrow', NATO reporting name: SA-14 Gremlin) is a man-portable air defense missile system (MANPADS) developed in the Soviet Union as a response to the poor performance of the earlier 9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) system. The missile was largely based on the earlier Strela 2, and thus development proceeded rapidly. The new weapon was accepted into service in the Soviet Army in January 1974.
== Description == The most significant change over the Strela 2 was the introduction of an all-new infra-red homing seeker head. The new seeker worked on FM modulation (con-scan) principle, which is less vulnerable to jamming and decoy flares than the earlier AM (spin-scan) seekers, which were easily fooled by flares and even the most primitive infrared jammers. The new seeker also introduced detector element cooling in the form of a pressurized nitrogen bottle attached to the launcher.
The effect of cooling was to expand the seeker's lead sulfide detector element's sensitivity range to longer wavelengths (slightly over 4 μm as opposed to 2.8 μm of uncooled PbS elements). In practice this made possible the tracking of cooler targets over longer ranges, and enabled forward-hemisphere engagement of jets under favourable circumstances. The seeker also had better tracking rate, enabling the missile to track maneuvering of fast and approaching targets. A negative side effect from the aforementioned improvements was increased missile weight, which caused a slight decrease in the kinematic performance of the original Strela-2 (SA-7). Against relatively slow, low-altitude battlefield air threats the overall effectiveness was much improved. Strela-3 missiles have been exported to over 30 countries. The original Strela-3 missile was the 9M36. The follow-on to the Strela-3 was Igla. The naval version of this missile has the NATO reporting name of SA-N-8.
Operational history
=== Iraq === On 22 November 2003 an Airbus A300 cargo plane was hit by a Strela-3 missile after takeoff from Baghdad International Airport, but managed to land safely despite losing hydraulic power. On 6 May 2006, a British Westland Lynx AH.7 of the Royal Navy from 847 Squadron was shot down with a Strela-3 over Basra, killing five crewmen and crashing into a house.
=== Georgia === During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by a Georgian Army SA-14 on December 14, 1992, resulting in the death of 3 crew and 58 passengers, most of them Russian refugees. A Georgian Air Force Su-25 was shot down over Nizhnaya Eshera on 4 July 1993 by SA-14, and several other aircraft on both sides may have been shot down by SA-14s.
=== Former Yugoslavia === A British Sea Harrier FRS1 of 801 Naval Air Squadron, operating from aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 16 April 1994, was shot down during its attack on two Republika Srpska T-55 tanks in Bosnia. The pilot, Lieutenant Nick Richardson, ejected and landed in territory controlled by friendly Bosnian Muslims.
=== DR Congo === A Zimbabwe Air Force Il-76 was shot down by Congolese rebels using an SA-14 on 11 October 1998 during the Second Congo War, resulting in the death of 40 troops and crew.
=== Afghanistan === SA-14s used by the Northern Alliance are credited with having shot down 8 Taliban MiG-21 and Su-22 fighters during the Taliban's 2000 offensive against Taloqan.
=== Iraq === A SA-14 (9K34 Strela-3) MANPADS was found during Operation Claw (2019-2020) in June 2019 in the Hakurk region of northern Iraq belonging to the PKK.
Operators
=== Current === Angola Azerbaijan Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cuba Georgia Iran Jordan Nicaragua North Korea Peru Russia − Used by Ground Forces and Airborne units. Syria Turkmenistan Ukraine
=== Non-state === Hezbollah Houthis Islamic State
=== Former === Armenia Belarus Bulgaria − Produced under license. Czechoslovakia Czech Republic East Germany – Never acquired to military service. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Finland Germany − Former East German stock, used for training only. Hungary India Iraq Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Poland South Africa Soviet Union Tajikistan United Arab Emirates – Used by the Abu Dhabi Royal Guard. Uzbekistan Vietnam
=== Non-state former === Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Jamiat-e Islami Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Revolutionary United Front UNITA – Captured from MPLA and Cuban forces in late 1987. Kurdistan Workers' Party
Comparison chart
== See also == List of Russian weaponry
Citations
== General and cited references == Cullen, Tony; Foss, Christopher F, eds. (1992). Jane's Land-based Air Defence 1992-93 (PDF) (5th ed.). Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-0979-3. Retrieved 30 April 2024. "Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, FIM-43". Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-23. International Institute for Strategic Studies (2016). The Military Balance 2016. Vol. 116. Routledge. ISBN 9781857438352. International Institute for Strategic Studies (2024). The Military Balance 2024. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-05115-3. O'Halloran, James C.; Foss, Christopher F., eds. (2002). Jane's Land-Based Air Defense 2002-2003 (15th ed.). Janes Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2437-6. Petukhov, Sergei I.; Shestov I.V. (1998). Istorija sozdanija i razvitija vooruzhenija i vojennoi tehniki PVO suhoputnyh voisk Rossii, 1.-2 [History of design and development of missile systems and military systems of AAW of Russian Land Forces]. VPK Publishing.
== External links == Media related to Strela-3 at Wikimedia Commons